The Billionaire's Craving

The cut of the wind against his skin and the spray of fresh powder was hypnotic, though he never stopped thinking about Sabela. The logical side of him knew she was fine, that it was undoubtedly just a hangover she suffered from. But the other side wouldn’t stop imagining the worst.

He tried to ski that other side into silence. Calling Marie constantly helped, too. He knew he was beginning to annoy her with his calls, knew she was a busy woman, but he didn’t care. Not today. He had to make sure Sabela was okay.

Before he knew it, it was afternoon. Yet he still couldn’t shake the thought of her.

Sabela.

She enchanted him.

After an evening like the one they’d shared, it had been tantalizing to have her sleeping just a door down from his bedroom, alone. The thought of her soft body warming his bed and melting his frozen heart, was almost more than he could withstand.

Worst of all, he feared it wasn’t just sex that he wanted from her.

The plan was derailing fast, and he didn’t know how to force it back on track.

Sabela was supposed to have been a disposable tool, easily used and even more easily cast away. Above all else, Colin was a businessman, and he knew how to take advantage of his resources.

But Sabela was proving to be too precious to cast aside. What was he supposed to do?

With her, he could imagine a future of companionship, laughter and pleasure, and perhaps even something more.

Was revenge for Blanca’s death worth throwing away the future?

He reminded himself not to get carried away. He hardly knew Sabela, and she certainly didn’t know him. Probably, once he slept with her, all these crazy, other feelings would fall away.

And with that thought, he knew the cure for what ailed him.

Sleep with Sabela Vaughn and get her out of his system.

Damned if he didn’t like that idea. It was the best one he’d had in days, and it fired him up, cleared up the unfamiliar uncertainty he’d been struggling with.

All along, the answer was simple. Have sex with Sabela.

Slashing back down the slope, he laughed in exaltation, pushing his body as hard as he could. Complete focus was necessary to avoid accidents. The treacherous slope was rife with hazards, and as he was the only one who used it, it went unchecked until he blazed through the perilous, exciting parts himself.

Just like Sabela. Dangerous and exciting. And he’d tame the danger she represented the same way he tamed this slope.

When he reached the bottom, skidding to a stop with gusto, he found Bruno standing nearby, waiting. Bruno’s face was kind, but he’d always been rather distant and aloof. He was a fantastic worker nonetheless, and Marie got along with him well.

“What is it, Bruno?” Colin asked.

“The pass is clear. I know you’re expecting more guests to arrive soon, and while another snowfall is expected overnight, if it does close the pass again I don’t think it will be for long.”

The unpredictable weather of the area was its only downfall. Colin nodded, glad to have been informed. If the pass was only going to be open for a short while, he wondered if he should take advantage.

A thought formed, but he quickly shrugged it off.

“Thanks, Bruno. I’ll take that under advisement.” He started to move over to the tow rope.

“Is there anything else I can do, sir?” Bruno asked.

“Do a tune-up and make sure the snow tires and chains are on the sedan. I may want to use it this evening.”

Bruno nodded his reply and didn’t ask any further questions. Instead, he made for the garage. The sedan, Colin was sure, would be ready in no time.

Since Sabela’s arrival, she hadn’t been out apart from their unfortunate time together on the slopes. If she was going to get to know him better, and if he was going to get to know her in the process, going out together seemed a smart choice.

Who would have thought that a small town waitress would throw his life into chaos? Thoughts of Blanca faded from his mind, and his attention turned to Sabela instead. Sexy Sabela.

Colin hopped off the chair and shook his head to clear his thoughts. Recovering from Blanca’s death was only a part of the plan. He had to remember the bigger picture.

In essence, Blanca had been murdered, killed in cold blood by the recklessness of one individual. Until that man was brought to justice, Colin couldn’t allow himself to rest. Blanca was his first love, his first everything, and he needed to ensure that the one who was responsible for taking her from him paid for it.

That was why Sabela was here.

With her under his thumb, he would finally have his revenge against Trevor Vaughn … the man who killed Blanca.

Chapter Twenty-Three

SABELA WOKE FROM HER NAP feeling refreshed and clear-headed. She called Marie for some refreshments, and after eating and showering and getting dressed, she found she had nothing but time on her hands.

Marie suggested she go downstairs to one of the lovely sitting rooms, which she did. She found a chessboard and played against herself for a bit. When that got boring, she skimmed some magazines she found in a rack. The Swiss ones were interesting for a while, even though she couldn’t read them, some of them in French, others in German, one in something she didn’t recognize. Though she couldn’t read them, she could appreciate the design and style.

Marie had told her that Colin had gone back out to ski, and for some strange reason Sabela found this annoying. First, she’d had the strange dream about him skiing, and it had left her feeling uneasy. Second, for a man who was supposedly overwrought about the condition of Sabela’s health, he sure wasn’t in a hurry to come back and check on her.

Third, she was bored as hell and needed something to do. With nothing to do, she kept obsessing over the previous night and how Colin had rejected her advances. With nothing to do, she kept practicing facing him and demanding to know where things stood between them. It had to stop or she’d go crazy.

The more time that passed, the more Sabela wished that she had her laptop so she could be doing some design work. Then she recalled that there was nothing stopping her from going old school.

She made her way up to Colin’s lounge and settled behind the big desk. Marie brought her a pad of paper and some pencils. It was rudimentary at best, but as the day wound on, Sabela lost herself in the basics.

Today, despite the trying circumstances, she felt inspired and drew with confidence and abandon. The first sketch turned into another sketch, and Marie wandered through on occasion refilling her coffee cup and asking her if she needed anything.

Once Marie caught on to what she was doing, colored pencils became available. Sabela happily went back to her initial sketches and added bursts of color.

It was almost frenetic the way she was sketching. The concepts were coming together in her mind, and she started to use the colors to make the more intricate details pop. When she’d falter, all she had to do was look out the plate glass windows to the majestic spread of inspiration that was the Swiss Alps.

She was so engrossed in her work that she missed footsteps approaching from behind until they were nearly upon her. A chill ran down her spine like there were eyes on her, and Sabela turned her head to see who was there.

Colin stood behind her, one hand outreached on the way to touch her shoulder. His expression was unreadable.

Sabela stood up quickly and turned to face him in full, only to have the sheet of paper she was working on fall to the floor. Colin quirked an eyebrow and reached out to cup her face and brush his thumb across her cheek.

The heat returned to her cheeks immediately, and a swell of desire rose up in her belly.

Colin was painfully handsome. His blond hair was slightly tousled and his tanned cheeks were flushed with a red tint from the cold. He smelled like snow, fir trees, and something she couldn’t define, something predatory.

Then he took his hand away and held it up, and she saw why he had touched her. She had l

ead dust on her face.

She scrubbed at her cheek, embarrassed, and stooped to pick up the fallen sketch from the floor.

Colin stepped around her to pick up the sheets of designs. He studied each one. There was something unnerving about the way he looked at her work, and it set Sabela on edge.

“They’re not ready yet,” she murmured, awkward in the face of his cold expression.

It seemed an eternity before Colin put them back down. What did he think? They’d talked about her love of fashion, but he’d never seen any of her work.

None that she was aware of, anyway. It occurred to her that with connections and money like Colin had, he might know more about her than she thought.

“I left you to rest, not work,” he finally said. “I don’t believe it’s too much to ask that you take care of yourself. You represent a significant investment, and I don’t want you in a sick bed when I require your services.”

The blow was savage. Sabela was speechless for a long moment, all the wind taken out of her sails. Why was he being so mean? He’d been nice the previous night. Where had that man gone?

“I’m not sick. And I didn’t have anything else to do,” she said, disgruntled at having to explain herself. “And at least this way I get to be productive. What am I supposed to do with my time while you’re not around?” There was snark in what she said, and she knew it. And didn’t care.

“I’ll say if you’re sick or not. You’re here to be at my beck and call, and be ready to do anything I ask when I ask you to do it,” Colin said. His face hardened even more. “Nothing more, nothing less. I can’t have you wearing yourself out or being distracted by anything else.”

She stood her ground. “So I’m just supposed to sit around and do nothing? I could be sitting on my ass watching TV trying to pretend you don’t exist. Instead, I thought I’d do something I enjoyed. Apparently you don’t want me to enjoy myself.”

From the questionnaire she’d answered, Colin should have known how much her creativity meant to her. It wasn’t just about working on something that might make her a few extra bucks — she designed because she was compelled to do so.